Safe

Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Original

by Kraft

Scores 100/100 on FDA SAFFA + CSPI ingredient analysis , with no flagged ingredients identified.

Barcode 0021000057054 · Serving size 1 POUCH (198 g)

The verdict

Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Original by Kraft scores 100/100 in PlainFoodSafe's ingredient screening. We compared its 33 labeled ingredients with FDA SAFFA regulatory records and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings; 0 ingredients are flagged for caution. The source parser split this into a very long 33-component record, beginning with Cooked Enriched Macaroni Product, Water, Enriched Macaroni Product. That density can include amounts and label fragments, so verify the physical label before relying on ingredient order or completeness. This is not a recall, allergy, medical, or dietary-safety determination.

100/100
Safe safety score
0
flagged ingredients of 33 analyzed
Group 4
Ultra-processed
C
Nutri-Score nutrition grade

Computed directly from OpenFoodFacts ingredient data cross-referenced with FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine ratings. See our methodology for the scoring formula.

What the Data Says About Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Original

Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Original by Kraft carries a composite safety score of 100/100, which we classify as "Safe" on our four-tier shelf-label framework.

Of the 33 ingredients parsed from this label, 9 are covered by a regulator or watchdog we screen against (Ferrous Sulfate, Lactic Acid, Whey and 6 others), with 8 carrying an FDA Substances Added to Food (SAFFA) status and 3 a CSPI Chemical Cuisine rating. The remaining 24 ingredients appear in neither registry, so they neither raise nor lower the score. Each additive rated caution-or-worse penalizes the composite. Product data originates from the OpenFoodFacts collaborative catalog; safety annotations come from federal regulators and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. This score is a transparent derived index we compute from that public data, not an official FDA rating or endorsement; see the Methodology page for the exact weighting.

Our scan did not identify any ingredients in this product that FDA SAFFA or CSPI Chemical Cuisine data flags as requiring caution or avoidance at the time of analysis. That is a meaningful clean-label signal, though it does not account for personal allergens, regional recalls, or inspection findings not reflected in federal additive databases. The per-ingredient breakdown below shows the source-level classification for each component.

On the NOVA processing scale, Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Original is classified as Group 4 (Ultra-processed). NOVA measures industrial processing intensity rather than ingredient-level safety, so it complements the SAFFA and CSPI ratings: a product can be clean on additive flags but heavily processed, or lightly processed but carry individually flagged ingredients. Combining both lenses gives a fuller picture than either alone. The Nutri-Score grade of C reflects nutritional balance, calories, saturated fat, sugar, sodium versus fiber, protein, and produce content, which again is a distinct dimension from additive safety and worth weighing alongside the scores above.

Safety Profile at a Glance

Composite safety metrics for Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Original
Metric Value Source
PlainFoodSafe Score 100/100 FDA SAFFA + CSPI composite
Flagged ingredients 0 CSPI/FDA review
NOVA processing group Group 4 OpenFoodFacts
Nutri-Score C OpenFoodFacts

Composite metric derived from FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine, OpenFoodFacts. See methodology.

How It Compares to Its Category

Among the 24,982 products we've scored in the Frozen foods category, the average safety score is 92.9/100. Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Original scores 7.1 points above that category average (100/100 vs. 92.9/100), so it is a comparatively strong pick for shoppers screening within that category specifically, rather than against the product catalog as a whole.

Ingredient Safety Analysis

1
Cooked Enriched Macaroni Product
2
Water
3
Enriched Macaroni Product
4
Durum Wheat Semolina
5
Niacin
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
6
Ferrous Sulfate
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, STABILIZER OR THICKENER
GRAS
7
Iron
8
Thiamin Mononitrate
9
Vitamin B1
10
Riboflavin
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
GRAS
11
Vitamin B2
12
Folic Acid
NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT
Approved
13
Cheese Sauce
14
Whey
COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FORMULATION AID, MALTING OR FERMENTING AID, NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENT, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
GRAS
15
Cheddar Cheese
16
Milk
17
Cheese Culture
18
Salt
Flavoring
Cut Back
19
Enzymes
20
Skim Milk
21
Canola Oil
22
Calcium Phosphate
23
Modified Food Starch
24
Xanthan Gum
ANTICAKING AGENT OR FREE-FLOW AGENT, COLOR OR COLORING ADJUNCT, DRYING AGENT, EMULSIFIER OR EMULSIFIER SALT, FORMULATION AID, PROCESSING AID, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, STABILIZER OR THICKENER, SURFACE-FINISHING AGENT, TEXTURIZER
Approved
25
Lactic Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, CURING OR PICKLING AGENT, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE
Safe GRAS
26
Citric Acid
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT, ANTIOXIDANT, ENZYME, FLAVOR ENHANCER, FLAVORING AGENT OR ADJUVANT, LEAVENING AGENT, PH CONTROL AGENT, SEQUESTRANT, SOLVENT OR VEHICLE, SURFACE-ACTIVE AGENT
Safe GRAS
27
Sodium Phosphate
28
Natural Flavor
29
Paprika
30
Turmeric
31
And Annatto Added For Color
32
Cream
33
Vitamin D3

Full Ingredient List

Cooked Enriched Macaroni Product (Water, Enriched Macaroni Product [Durum Wheat Semolina, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate (Iron), Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid]); Cheese Sauce (Whey, Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Skim Milk, Canola Oil, Milk, Salt, Contains Less Than 2% Of Calcium Phosphate, Modified Food Starch, Xanthan Gum, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Sodium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, With Paprika, Turmeric, And Annatto Added For Color, Enzymes, Cheese Culture, Dried Cream, Vitamin D3).

Categories

Frozen foods

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, CSPI Chemical Cuisine.

Product data from OpenFoodFacts (ODbL). Ingredient safety ratings from FDA SAFFA and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details.

This information is for reference only and does not constitute dietary or medical advice.

Product data from Open Food Facts; additive safety from the FDA SAFFA inventory and CSPI Chemical Cuisine. See our methodology for details. Compiled by PlainFoodSafe

Every figure on PlainFoodSafe is rendered directly from OpenFoodFacts and FDA data, no number is typed in by an editor. Product figures are computed directly from OpenFoodFacts, FDA SAFFA, and CSPI Chemical Cuisine data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.

Share card for Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Original Food Ingredient Profile

Share this food data

Download this sourced data card or share the canonical profile.